The 'courtside Karen' who threatened to 'f--- up' LeBron James has apologized for 'losing my cool'

• The Atalanta Hawks fan who LeBron James dubbed "Courtside Karen" has apologized to the NBA star.
• Juliana Carlos was ejected from the Hawks' defeat to the Lakers Monday after yelling at James.
• She later launched an expletive-laden rant at James on social media, calling him a "f---ing p----."

The Atalanta Hawks fan who LeBron James dubbed "Courtside Karen" after she launched a barrage of abuse at him has apologized to the NBA star for her courtside outburst.

Juliana Carlos was ejected from the Hawks' defeat to the Lakers on Monday night after yelling mask-less at James, who had been arguing with her heckler husband.

Video footage from the game showed James making comments toward Carlos while she responded angrily, jabbing her finger toward the four-time MVP.

Carlos later launched an expletive-laden rant at James on social media, calling him a "f---ing p----" and saying "I will f--- you up."

James responded by tweeting: "Courtside Karen was MAD MAD!!"

On Tuesday, the 25-year-old said sorry for the incident, posting a lengthy statement on Instagram in which she wrote: "To say things escalated quickly at last night's game is an understatement, and I want to apologize for losing my cool and removing my mask in the heat of the moment.

"My husband is a huge sports fan and we're passionate people, and let's be real: sports wouldn't be sports without a little trash talking."

Carlos added that she felt compelled to stand up for her husband, who James called "ol' steroid ass."

"What should have been a quick back-and-forth between two adults got out of hand and my natural instinct to stand up for the man I love kicked in," she added.

"Did I get defensive when that happened? Yes. Did I use offensive language when I could have taken the higher road? Yes. And for those things, I take full responsibility."

According to ESPN's McMenamin, the Hawks launched an investigation into the incident and will not ban Carlos, her husband, and their two guests -all of whom were ejected from Monday's game - from future fixtures at the State Farm Arena.

For his part, James said he wasn't bothered by the tirade, and was actually just happy fans are back in NBA arenas.

"He said his piece, I said my piece, and then someone else jumped into it and said their piece. I don't think they should have been kicked out," he said in a post-game interview.